Wheel driven music boxes



Sept. 18, 1962 J. w. SCOTT 3,054,377

WHEEL DRIVEN MUSIC BOXES Filed Oct. 28, 1960 g/V EN TOR. 3 2g? a t-MStates l its This invention relates to improvements in sound pro ducingdevices and particularly with reference to a device which may be used asa toy or as a warning signal which can be motor driven or driven by thewheel of a vehicle, and which produces the sound of an automotivevehicle internal combustion motor when operated at normal travelingspeeds of a bicycle.

The invention also provides for simultaneous or selective production ofdifferent sounds, one of which consists of a plurality of tonessimultaneously produced through air pressure while the other producesone or more impacted reed tones simultaneously or sequentially, as maybe desired.

The invention also provides for operation of the device and terminationat will, suitable mounting means being provided for the specific vehicleon which it is to be mounted.

The objects and advantages of the invention are as follows:

First, to provide a motor box which, when operated at or above apredetermined speed will produce the tone of an internal combustionmotor in operation.

Second, to provide a motor box as outlined which can be made to producea single type of tone or tones or a plurality of different types.

Third, to provide a motor box as outlined with means for selective orsimultaneous production of a plurality of different types of tones.

Fourth, to provide a motor box as outlined with means for drivingthrough the medium of the rim or tire of a vehicle.

Fifth, to provide a device as outlined which is relatively simple inconstruction and economical to manufacture.

In describing the invention reference will be had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation through the invention taken on line 1 ofFIGURE 2.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation showing the controls.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary development of portions of the housing and drumwalls and shown in section to indicate the relationship between thehousing and reed drum, passages, and reeds.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational View of FIG. 4.

The invention consists of a cylindrical housing which is provided withone or more series of angularly related air passages 11 and 12 andhaving a bottom provided with air inlet passages 13 and 14 located asclose to the axis as possible, and a head 15 is removably attached tothe top of the housing as indicated at 16.

The reed drum 17 also is cylindrical and has reeds 118 mounted on theexterior over the reed passages '19, equal in number and spacing to theair passages 11 and 12, and also has air intake passages 20 and 21provided through the bottom wall.

A drive shaft 23 is rotatably supported in a bearing 24 which is fixedin the mounting bracket 25 which is shown as of the clamp variety, andshown in a form to clamp about the head 26 of the front fork of abicycle through the medium of a bolt 27.

The drive shaft is connected to the housing, with the bearing extendingup into the housing and the housing having a cylindrical recess 28 tofit over the bearing and having a top wall 29 having a passage for thethreaded end of the shaft and being secured by a nut 30.

'atent O The reed drum has a bearing 31 which is rotatable on the hub32, is adjustable in the housing to two positions through the medium ofa lever 33 which is fixed to the upper end of the drum and projectsthrough a slot 34 which has a recess at each end as indicated at 35 and36 in which the spring lever engages, the passages in the housing anddrum being in registry in one of the positions and the reed passagesbeing covered in the other postion.

The drive shaft requires a universal joint intermediate its length andis shown in the simplest possible form consisting of a closely-woundcompression spring 37 the ends of which are fixed to the adjacent endsof the upper portion 38 and lower portion 39 of the drive shaft topermit retraction of the drive wheel 40 from the tire 41, and whichretraction is accomplished through a collar 42 in which the shaft isrotatable, this coliar having an arm 43 which is retained againstrotation by the form 44 which depends from the bearing support 45 whichis a part of the mounting bracket 25. Thus, when the flexible member 46is pulled upwardly, the shaft is flexed and the drive wheel 40 retractedfrom the tire.

Opposed depending reeds 47 and 48 are mounted in the head and areequidistant from the axis and each has a lever as indicated at 49 and 50and which levers are movable to two positions in one of which the reedsare radial and in the other broadside to the axis as indicatedrespectively by the positions shown for 47 and 48.

If both are to be operated, they must be operated simultaneously so thatthe levers will be in the opposite positions from each other, otherwise,one, as 47 may be a dummy with the lever 49 rotatable and the reed fixedin the position shown, to maintain dynamic balance, the levers beingindicated as retained in the respective positions by permanent magnets50' and 51.

A depending shaft 52 is rotatable in the bearing 53 and is retainedagainst rotation by the arm 54 which is connected to the steering shaftof the handle bars of the bicycle as by a clamp 55. This shaft isprovided with one or more radial arms 56 which may be rigid butpreferably formed of spring metal such as clock spring steel and withthe terminal ends so located as to just tip the depending reeds, asindicated at 57.

When the bicycle is driven at around 15 miles per hour, the drive shaftwill be rotated at about 30 revolutions per second or 1800 r.p.m., withthe housing and reed drum rotating at that speed.

This causes the drum and housing to function as a pump, both exteriorlyand interiorly, air being drawn in through the passages 13, '14, 20, 21,58 and 59, with centrifugal action providing a pressure on the interiorwalls to force air through the reed passages to vibrate the reeds whenthe housing and drum are in the relative positions shown, andsimultaneously the drag on the exterior creates a drop in pressure toaugment the interior pressure, and at the same time, the rods or reeds56 strike the reed 48 the same number of times, or 30 times per second,and with both reeds 47 and 48 turned to operating position, the ratewill be 60 times per second. If both levers are turned to the positionswith the reeds radial, the reeds will not be struck and only the airoperated reeds will provide the sound, while if turned to operate, andthe housing and drum are changed to the other position by moving thelever 33 into notch 36, the air operated reels will be silent since theyare blocked by the intervening portions 60 of the side walls of thehousing.

The device can be made with both types of sounds or either of them. Ifair-operated sounds are not desired the drum is not required, while ifonly the air operated reeds are desired, the depending shaft and reedsalso will not be required.

I claim:

1. In a musical device having an outer cylindrical housing having aseries of spaced passages formed through the walls thereof, and frictiondrive means manually selectively cooperative with the wheel of a vehiclefor rotatably driving said housing, sound producing means comprising aninner cylindrical reed drum having a plurality of passages formedthrough the circumferential walls and registrable with the spacedpassages, and a reed mounted in substantially closing relation on theexterior of each of the plurality of passages,

with the friction drive means rotating said housing and reed drum atrelative high speed to provide centrifugal action for creating airpressure interiorly of the reed drum, and partial vacuum exteriorly ofthe housing for vibrating the reeds to produce a composite tone when thefriction drive means cooperates with the vehicle wheel.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, in which said drum is rotatablyadjustable in said housing and including means cooperative between thehousing and drum for manually adjusting the drum to two positions,

in one of which the passages in drum and housing are in registry forvibration of the reeds, and in the other the passages in the drum areclosed by the intervening Wall portions for non-vibration of the reeds.

3. A structure as defined in claim 1, a head for said housing and anaxial bearing on said head, a trigger shaft depending into said drumthrough said bearing, and

secured against rotation with the head and having a plurality of spacedradial trigger elements, and

an impact reed depending from said head in spaced relation to the axisof the trigger shaft for engagement by said trigger elements,

said impact reed having means exteriorly of the head for manualadjustment to two positions, respectively, in engaging position for thetrigger elements, and clearing the trigger elements.

4. In a sound device having a cylindrical housing having acircumferential wall and a bottom wall, with the circumferential wallhaving a series of passages formed therethrough, and drive meansincluding a friction drive wheel manually selectively cooperative withthe wheel of a vehicle for rotatably driving said housing, and means formounting said device on a vehicle; sound producing means comprising adrum within said housing and having a circumferential wall closelyrelated to the interior of the circumferential wall of the housing, andhaving a plurality of reed air passages registrable with the passages insaid housing and each having a reed mounted on the exterior wall overeach passage, and

means manually adjustable and movable to two positions and cooperativebetween the drum and the housing and including releasable securing meansfor selective registry and non-registry of the passages in the housingand drum.

5. In a sound device having a cylindrical housing and mounting meanstherefor, with the housing having a circumferential wall and a bottomwall, and drive means for selective driving cooperation with the wheelof a vehicle, and a series of spaced passages formed through thecircumferential wall, and a head for said housing, sound producing meanscomprising a drum mounted interiorly of and rotatable with said housingand having a series of reed passages registrable with the spacedpassages and each having a vibratory reed mounted exteriorly, and

adjusting means cooperative between the drum and the housing foradjusting the drum selectively to two positions, respectively with thereed passages in registry with the spaced passages, and, closed by theintervening wall portions between the spaced passages,

a reed shaft axially mounted in said head and secured against rotationand depending into said housing and having a plurality of spacedengaging members projecting laterally, and

a plurality of angularly spaced impact reeds mounted in said head anddepending into said drum and each adjustable to two positions, in one ofwhich the engaging members strike the impact reeds successively, and inthe other the reeds are in clearing relation to the engaging members.

References (lited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS400,123 Schoenner Mar. 26, 1889 618,107 Kraushaar Jan. 24, 18991,198,844 Hawthorne Sept. 19, 1916 1,835,452 Armstrong Dec. 8, 1931

